SkymonkeyONE

To the person asking about a DZ near Columbus, GA: Yes, there is a DZ within 35 minutes of Columbus called Skydive Opelika. It is a two-Cessna 182 DZ located right off of I-85 between Auburn and Montgomery (actually in Tuskeegee on Moton Field). You would cross the river on 280 into Alabama, then turn left on Highway 80 and follow it straight for about 30 miles. The website is www.skydiveopelika.com . Jumps are $12 to 10,500 and the crowd is very laid back. There are also two righteous natural swoop-canals there. Check out the pics of me swooping them in the photo gallery on this (Dropzone.com) website. If you don't like Cessna DZ's, then the next closest DZ to you is Thomaston (about an hour and a half drive). Last year they had an Otter and a Queen Air. I went to a GSL meet there last year and had a pretty good time. Not much farther away is Skydive Monroe (I recommend it). Also pretty close is Cedartown. Chuck Blue D-12501 Atair Factory Pilot

Andrea, luckilly, my wife (who has a bit over 2,700 jumps herself) doesn't mind me getting a bit stinky on the DZ. I believe it drives her crazy! Such a good woman! But yeah, the guy that said "if you can smell yourself in freefall...." was right on target. When my jumpsuit stays shaped without me in it, then it definitely needs washing. chuck

There was a big K-bottle on the premises for filling those balloons. That and a bunch of "other" party favors caused me to be very social over the course of the weekend. Chuck

Outstanding; my wife and I made one of Stacy's pics! The two top "neat people" in the Thursday night picture are me (Chuck Blue, king of all skymonkeys; and my wife Kris). Lovely time had by all!

Yep, I definitely wash my suits several times a year nowadays. I have one white one for summer (and whenever else I feel like it), two black, and a blue. Black in the summer makes for some very rank odor after just a short time, but is great for making you sweat and thus lose that extra weight you might be carrying around. True, ten years ago I wouldn't consider washing a suit unless I got "evidence" on it. To hell with the people who didn't like my fragrant aroma! I only washed it when I couldn't stand the smell of MYSELF. LOL! My white suit, on the other hand, I wash about every two or three weeks just to keep it nice and clean/white. I even bleach it with color-safe bleach so as to get it REALLY white, while not ruining my orange and blue grippers. It has been a very long time since I biffed in that suit, but I de-stain it IMMEDIATELY after getting evidence on it. I have managed to get five years out of it, unbelievably. It's a first-generation Michigan Comp Bootie Suit. Of course this does not mean that my suits do not normally stink after about an hour of use. Us hairy Scottish-blooded guys can really stink one up! Actually, I think skydiver chicks dig the smell. Chuck

"It took all of two weeks to get a Cobalt demo on all three requests, not to mention tons of support I received from Mike at Freeair and Dan in piloting and picking the right canopy." Glad you were happy enough with your demo to go ahead and order your new Cobalt! We had a great time this past weekend showing off the demo Cobalts (plus the new Indigo seven-cell eliptical) to the crowd at the CSS Easter Boogie. We also had a Cobalt 95 with prototype nose modifications to lock in more air. It flew beautifully and I have a new 75 with those nose mods on the way (factory pilot bennies!). Any Perris guys out there will see myself and Caven Warren swooping it up with Cobalts at the Para Performance Games in June. Chuck Blue D-12501 Atair Factory Pilot

I like Monkey Fists. I just put one on my new Javelin Odyssey RS. As I am from Raeford, I was actually lucky enough to have the manufacturer, Eddie Spears, put mine on personally. I have had hackey handle as long as they have existed, but I am very happy with the "feel" of my Monkey Fist. You can buy them as just the handle, or as a complete kill-line pilot chute; I got the latter. Concerning weight comparisons between Monkey Fists and Hackeys; there are at least two types of hackeys: one heavy, with beans inside; the other with some type of white foam stuff inside. The monkey fist is smaller in diameter than both. It is heavier than the "foam filled" hackey, but lighter than the bean filled ones. There are a ton of colors available. Mine was woven of the orange and blue nylon cord and I believe is refered to as the "mandarin mix". Outstanding. Chuck Blue D-12501 Atair Factory Pilot

"I am glad you were under that cobalt canopy that got cutaway to make the assessment that is was a premature brake release...I think I can say that it was not." I am not saying that your main was not hooked up improperly, quite possibly assisting in your spin-up, but I can personally attest that the one brake was still firmly stowed upon inspection. Either way, once again, it's all good and you had an uneventful reserve ride and other successful Cobalt rides. Luckily, it wasn't ME that hooked your main up! I have two reserve rides in 20 years in the sport; once because I mis-rigged a riser set installing a small canopy which just would NOT fly straight in that configuration, so I know the feeling brother. Chuck Blue D-12501 Atair Factory Pilot

Yep, when Dan looked at the retrieved main he kind of cracked up. He asked the guy: "so, it was spinning left?" (maybe it was right, but you get the point). "The right toggle is unstowed, but the left is still stowed." DUH! We laughed about it and besides, it's all good, the main was not lost or damaged. The kid on Sunday was jumping a Cobalt 150 demo and barely missed the tail of the Cessna, then his main got blown over the tail; almost ugly, but again, no damage. Once again, it was windy on Sunday. It was actually pretty windy up top the whole weekend. The Strong ATV thing was blown downwing during drogue-fall, then got ZERO penetration on the way down, thus the off-DZ landing. That thing uses a 1,200 sq ft main! Chuck

Outstanding site Martijn. I checked all the videos and was really grooving on the cow-swooping. The one where the tandem pair lands on top of that caravan looked pretty wicked, too. Good job. Chuck

My wife, Kris, and I got there about midnight on Thursday and there were still about 30 people around the fire whooping it up. We had an easy time finding an electrical hookup for our Winnie, "the mystery machine", right next to Alan Davis' and J. Porter's trailers so all was well. We finally crashed about 3am, then got up at 7:15 and started looking for coffee. Hooked up with Mike Tremen right away and did all but one of the big way jumps over the weekend. Smallest was a seven-point 12 way, biggest a 41 way, favorite probably a two-point 28 way. Mike and Cliff, plus Lyle Presse, did a good job of organizing. I made 11 of the "big ways" total over the weekend. It was good running into some old friends. To "slot perfect", who I believe is John Hawke: The ATV drops were pretty interesting. The one I watched on Friday landed off DZ due to a shit spot, but landed on it's wheels and drove off. Sorry you missed it. It oscillated pretty bad under drogue; would have been neat to see in FF. My canopy sponsor, Dan Preston of Atair, was there with a bunch of demos. Everyone seemed pleased with the Cobalt. We only had one kid chop one (premature brake release that he did not notice before pulling his handle) and one other have a near miss with a parked C-182 on Sunday (it was windy). There will be lots of video shots of the boogie on the next Mad Track video magazine. Chris shot tons of footage of jumps, plus of all the gear vendors on site. He also dubbed lots of footage from many of the other vidiots on site. Speaking of gear vendors: Thanks to Jari and Kim for hooking me and Dan up with BirdMan jumps. If any of you have yet to do this, GET ON IT! I had a complete blast and had a two-minute-plus freefall. "White with Orange wings, please!" Bottom line: $17 to 14,500 (or better!), great organizing, good vibes, whacky Saturday night happenings. If you were there; great! See you next time. Chuck Blue D-12501 Atair Factory Pilot

I agree that SkyKat is an outstanding gear shop. Tony and Kate bend over backwards to accomodate me. Their website, which I gather you have already accessed, is updated daily. Of particular note is their guarantee program. Chuck

I have done both the bathtub and the washing machine methods and have gotten good results with both. One step I give a little extra attention to is ensuring the cutaway and reserve ripcord housings are completely dry, inside and out, just as soon as I am done washing the container. I also check all the tacking; this especially if you machine wash. Chuck

The Atair Viper, which is no longer produced, flew almost exactly like a Stiletto. I had a 150 for a while in my demo rig and loved it. It is a fully eliptical nine cell parachute. They came stock with kill-line sliders and pilot chutes. They are very easy to pack as they are made out of the non-slippery Gelvenor Textiles zero-p, just like a Triathalon, Cobalt, etc. Openings are sweet and on heading. Landings are every bit as sweet as a Stil. Like previously posted, you can get them for quite a bargain on the internet classifieds. Like the ones here, and at www.enclave.com Good luck! Chuck

I have owned two Atair canopies: an Alpha 84 and my current Cobalt 85. Both are outstanding parachutes. I have also test-jumped the Icarus Crossfire and owned an Icarus Extreme VX-74. The Crossfire is a very nice parachute. To me, the difference in the flight characteristics between it and the Cobalt is negligible. I think the Cobalt opens ever-so-slightly better, and certainly is easier to pack, but besides that I really think they are about dead equal in the air. I think you would be able to get a Cobalt for slightly cheaper if you look around. You can CERTAINLY get one MUCH faster. Custom color Cobalts are available in around three weeks. I got mine in just over two weeks. On the other hand: while I really did love my Icarus VX, it took three months to get to me. Either way, both of the canopies you inquired about kick ass and I am sure you will enjoy yourself with whichever you choose. Chuck

I just got my new Javelin and thought I would write and tell you what I thought about the "Odyssey" mods on it. First of all, mine is an RS (formerly called XRS), which is the smallest one they offer. I have a Tempo 120 and a Cobalt 85 loaded into it and it looks FANTASTIC! The biggest difference in this rig, as compared to the last generation, is the cut-in backpad/harness mod. What this does is "glue" your container into the small of your back. The rig simply does not wash around at all on your back. I had every intention of getting another Vector before I tried on a friend's Odyssey prototype last winter. The fit of this rig changed my mind. I had not owned a Javelin for over ten years prior to this one because mine, and many other friends', had problems with the riser covers coming open in freefall and beating your ears to death. I am happy to report that the riser covers on this newest Jav are twice as secure and I have not had any instance of problem with them. One thing that is weird to get used to is flattening the risers into the troughs. With the new plastic tubes that run up into them (for the cutaway cable), they are VERY stiff. It takes a bit to get them laid down flat, but not so long as to bug me too much. I have always been a big fan of third (toggle)risers, so I ordered a set of 16" velcro-less ones with this rig. My only bitch with them is that the dive loops are SMALL, two-finger loops that are a bit harder to get to than I am used to. I did NOT get any of the screwy "alternative" fabric options on my rig. The only one I like AT ALL is the houndstooth pattern, but there was not really a mix that fit my preferred color pattern. That fake leather crap and the plastic is for the birds. You "older" skydivers out there might recall that you used to be able to get junk like this on Mirages, Vectors, and Racers over 10 years ago; yuck! I will say, though, that I saw some TSE Teardrop rigs this past summer which were made of the "Alien Skin" fabric and I liked them. In all, I am VERY pleased with my Javelin RS "Odyssey". Chuck Blue D-12501

Not into the rat race of large, turbine DZ's? Don't want to drive all the way to Atlanta or Florida just to make a skydive? Buddy Blue, D-597, and his staff would love to show you a good time. Granted, this might be a slightly biased opinion as I am Buddy's son, but since I have lived in North Carolina (a Raeford jumper) for the past 16 years, I hardly count as a "local" anymore. Buddy keeps two 182's in the air almost all of the time on this weekend and holiday-only DZ. It is VERY easy to find, just about one mile from I-85. The pace is very laid back; no computers or anything around here! The jumpers are a mix of old-school RW guys, a few freeflyers, and various others at different stages in their student or up-jumper training. A big deal here is doing two-cessna 8-ways at the end of the day. SL courses run every Saturday morning. New students get their knees in the breeze just after lunch. This is a Vector tandem DZ. There are two tandem rigs; both with EZ-384 mains (plus a 500 for the big boys). There is normally not a need to make reservations for tandems, but AFF needs to be arranged in advance. My favorite things about the DZ are the swoop canals. These are natural drainage canals which parrallel the taxiway. One is shallow, maybe a foot deep; the other is a "Deland-esqe" ravine with about two and a half feet of water in the bottom. There is actually a third one which is perpendicular to the others that may be groomed by this Spring. A very popular pastime on the DZ, at least when I am around, is to make back-to-back-to-back loads and swoop. We pack right beside the canal and get picked up right on the taxiway by the pilot; NICE! Rates are a buck a grand, plus two bucks, so that means you can make a hook turn for five bucks (if you just MUST go all the way up to 3k). You can see photos of the deep canal at WWW.enclave.com in the photo section. A photo of me swooping the shallow one is listed on the www.skydiveopelika.com website. Once again, this is not a big DZ. If you like the laid back, no pressure skydiving life, this is it. It is also a very safe place to learn how to skydive. There are lots of two-generation skydiving families on the DZ, and while you just may feel accepted at larger places, this place will make you feel like you are at home. Chuck Blue D-12501 Skydive Raeford

After a fairly long wait my new VX-74 arrived about three weeks ago. The delay was as a result of the laser cutter being down in New Zealand. The canopy arrived to me without side labels affixed for some reason, but who cares. At any rate, I am the proud owner of a VX-74. I load it at 2.4 with lead on. I have just under 2,600 jumps. Openings are "interesting". Not too fast, and on heading every time, but there is a pretty big surge upon full inflation that sometimes makes for slack lines. After that initial surge it settles nicely. Getting back from a poor spot is not a problem at all as long as you keep your brakes stowed. I find that method less strenuous than unstowing and flying in deep brakes, though the VX does fly really nicely at slow speeds. Once you unstow the brakes and start really flying the VX you had better have your sights set 1000 feet below you. My main is VERY ground-hungry and comes out of the sky like a bomb in full flight and in turns. The brakes are set deep and not much happens in the upper end of the control range. The VX has a very long recovery arc. If you are a swoop purist, you will want to set up your final hook/carve much higher than any other main you have ever jumped. As reported in the other reviews in this section, hooking low and having to "dig" out will only make for a shorter swoop. While having brakes deeper in the control range, the flare is EXTREMELY powerful. If you are too low and need to dig, it feels like you are doing a bar-dip to get "around the corner." It doesn't seem to matter how high I hook this thing, it always requires some input to stop the dive enough to get you on plane. I don't mind that at all, and am just now getting the technique dialed. The noise this thing creates as it flies through the air is enough to alert the entire DZ as to your eminent arrival. I get lot's of "HOLY SHIT's". All in all, it is a very fun canopy and I think it was worth the wait. The VX is not for everyone, though. It is a real handfull and could easilly get an inexperienced canopy pilot hurt or worse. One should make damn sure that he or she has SEVERAL hundred jumps on on other HP elipticals before strapping a VX on. Oh, packing. The VX packs big as hell. My 74 packs bigger than my Stiletto 97 did. Plus, I was spoiled by the non-slip zero-p on my Alpha and had a fit wrestling the VX into the bag the first few times. Not much of a problem, just a hassle. Feel free to e-mail me at SkymonkeyONE@aol.com for more info. Chuck Blue D-12501

I currently own a bunch of very fast parachutes, including a fantastic custom-color Alpha 84. Jumping 10 pounds of weight for 4-way, I wingload the 84 at 2.16 (or 2.04 without weights.) Bottomline up front: This parachute is GREAT for what I use them for- SWOOPING. I have owned my Alpha for about a month now and have put 57 jumps on it so far, so I feel I can give an accurate review of it. I will start at the top; openings. My parachute opens just like a Stiletto; smoothly and generally on-heading. I had been told by some nay-sayers in Pahokee, FL that Alphas open hard. I am SO glad that I didn't listen. One other person, in Atlanta, said that his opened too SLOWLY. As an ex-video guy, I don't thing anything is too slow as long as it eventually opens! At any rate, mine opens GREAT. Just like any other tiny eliptical, you REALLY need to stay straight in the harness on opening. The owners manual even has that in bold print. I find that this, more than anything else, will ensure a straight opening. As for packing, I use a standard PRO-pack with no crazy nose-stuffing or anything. I generally leave the nose straight, or with one little roll, and just wrap my tail. Wintec parachutes are made of the "Nylasilk" zero-p fabric, like a Triathalon, so it does not ooze around while you are trying to put it in the bag. General flight characteristics: As you might imagine, a parachute this small (84 square feet) is going to come out of the sky like a bomb. This is the case AFTER you unstow brakes. If you got hosed with a long spot, keeping brakes stowed will GREATLY increase your chances of getting back. I was amazed how flat it glided on one dive. After you are over the DZ, then the fun really begins. The control range on Alphas is very long as compared to a Stiletto; I find it about the same as a Velocity. I have third (toggle) risers installed on all my rigs. This really allows the tail to flatten out. Turns are brisk and steep, with lot's of altitude loss. A person 300 feet below you will be right in your way in one turn; believe me. Landing turns should be initiated at about the same altitude as a Velocity or FX/VX, which is to say quite a bit higher than a Stiletto. That is assuming you want a "clean" swoop, without having to dig it out of the hole with all your might. A properly initiated hook or riser dive will result in a considerably longer swoop than a Stiletto. The brakes are much deeper in the control range than a Stiletto, so it catches some demo jumpers off guard. Velocity or FX/VX jumpers will find the brakes "just right". Finally, the cost: I got my custom-color Alpha for a full $450 less than I paid for my VX-74. Granted I got great deals on both, but those are the differences in cash paid. This was my third new main this year (Vengeance, VX, Alpha). I find it FAR superior to the Vengeance (which I sold right away) for about $200 less money. I like it better than the Stilettos which used to be my staple. Besides, PD wouldn't make me one smaller than a 97. I like it better than a Velocity, though it flies very similar. The difference is in price and ease of packing. Any other questions, Email me. Chuck Blue D-12501

My experience: 2,425 jumps; skydiving 19 years; SL and Tandem I; 4-way guy; 5'7", 155lbs (plus 12 for four-way); haven't jumped a main larger than a 110 in over five years. After jumping a Stiletto 97 until it was well overdue for a replacement, I decided to try something else. I contemplated long and hard on a VX or a Velocity in the 70-something range, but Raeford is BUSY with non-experienced canopy pilots, and as an instructor I didn't want to be part of the problem. So, after reading all the propaganda about the Vengeance and having talked to several of the test jumpers, I decided to go ahead and order a 97. I did so without having demo'd one at all, in any size (probably dumb). My first inkling that I had made a poor size choice came when we got the first Vengeance demo canopy at Raeford; it was a 135. Everyone I know who REALLY works their Stiletto 135 that tried the Vengeance said that it flew great, but they would rather jump one one size smaller. This was one month into my order. I had specifically asked my friends at PD what the evaluators said about stepping down. They told me that most of the test jumpers said they were happiest with the same size Vengeance as the Stiletto they liked. This having been said, I went against my first thought (of getting the 89) and bought the 97. I tried to change my order one month into it, but was told the main was already cut. After an 11 week wait, my main arrived yesterday. I made two jumps on it today and here are my observations: -The canopy opens great, even after the horrible time I had getting that brand new bastard into the bag. You all know what I mean! It was on-heading both times and was as soft as my Stiletto. -The canopy has a great forward glide; quite a bit more than my Stiletto. It is slightly more "ground hungry", but not excessively so, like a Velocity. -The brakes are very "mushy" as compared to a Stiletto. The control range is down around your waist, and nothing happens till you get the toggles down that far. Granted, I like my brakes plenty loose so as to not get in the way when I do my one-riser hook turn or correct my path with both front risers, but this is different. I dumped at 6,000 on the first jump and just practiced hard turns and practice hooks. I ended up doing a fantastic surf on both jumps, without getting "too deep" in the corner before I found the proper flare point. This is one rock-solid parachute. It does not get squirrely one bit in turbulence so far as I have seen. I have been told my several people that the brakes on FXs and VXs are likewise "deep". I don't mind it, it is just different. -Front risers turns/hooks require about the same input as my Stiletto; brakes require more input. -Landings are outstanding. I get a longer swoop with this main than my same-sized Stiletto. Bottom Line: I am happy with my new Vengeance, but I REALLY should have bought one a size smaller, like I originally intended. Not that a 97 isn't a small canopy, but I am positive I would have liked the 89 better. Chuck Blue D-12501

With 19 years in the sport and over 2,400 jumps I feel I can give you a very good idea what this parachute is all about. I currently own a Stiletto 97. I weigh in at about 158 and generally wear 10 pounds of weight when I spin 4-way, so you figure the wing-load. I have put about 150 jumps on this main. I put more than 500 jumps on a Stiletto 107 before trading to a 97. I love Stilettos....period. Before going eliptical, I owned two Saber 135's and two Monarch 135's which almost put me in the ortho ward for their horrible openings. Before that I jumped an Excallibur. Listen; if you are someone who LOVES to go fast and turf surf, but has been beaten to death by tons of horrible Saber openings, then you owe it to yourself to jump a Stiletto. As a result of being a video guy for several years while at the same time jumping a Monarch that came off my back and opened like a bomb, I thought I was going to have to give up the little mains and find something more docile. Man, was I wrong! My Stilettos have been a lifesaver for my neck, PLUS I swoop twice as far! These things open SWEET! True, you may experience the occasional "Stiletto spin-up", but I have never had to chop my main. The worse I ever had was two line twists, and it kicked out fine. Concerning landing technique: I had a finicky 107 that didn't dive right in the front riser mode, so I toggle-hooked it on every jump. Dangerous, yes, but I had the experience not to frap myself into the ground. Oddly, my 97 dives great on one front riser, so I am even happier with it. I land my Stiletto upwind, downwind, crosswind, and circle-surf; it just doesn't matter which way I am going. The Stiletto's natural recovery arc is much tighter than that of the Velocity (and FX and VX) and as such, is much more suitable to busier DZ's. I instruct at a very busy student-heavy DZ and it is just the smartest "hot" main to jump in those kinds of conditions. I just last weekend ordered a new main. I had test jumped Velocities and almost bought one, but hated the ground hungriness that was evident in every mode of flight. I was all set to buy myself a new Stiletto 97 because I am truly happy with it, but then ended up succombing to the unknown and bought a new Vengeance 97. Still, I will not be selling my Stiletto. It will just be relegated to duty in my alternate rig.

Jumper: Chuck Blue, D-12501 Experience: 2,350 jumps, 19 years in the sport. SL and Tandem "I" I put over 400 jumps on a Monarch 135 before I got smart enough to pawn it off on someone without a clue as to what this thing can do to your neck. First, I must say that I was one hard-headed lad in the days I was jumping a monarch. I actually owned TWO Monarch 135's, plus a Saber 135 at the same time. At the time, I was a very active 4-way jumper and I supported much of my skydiving habit by jumping video for other teams and tandems. I had two matching mains; one a Saber, the other a Monarch. The Monarch was the one I normally jumped because it had a better "bottom end." I am now and have always been a turf-surfer. My Saber was a nice main, but the Monarch just flat out-surfed it.....period. BUT, and this is a big but, that damn parachute opened so hard (at least 70% of the time) that I was frequently incapacitated after several jumps. I sold the Saber after a while to my cousin because I just didn't jump it anymore. All that did was make EVERY jump a crap shoot on whether or not I would get spanked by the Monarch. Finally, I just couldn't take it anymore and sold it. Luckilly I found a used Stiletto and have since had nothing but a great time. It must be noted that there were two very different varieties of Monarch's produced. The first ones were the like the two that I owned. The nose was not flipped over the leading edge of the cells. These were the ones that opened so horribly hard. The second edition had an overhanging nose and open better. BUT, the trade-off is in flight performance. The earlier Monarch's landed MUCH better (read: longer surf) than the later ones. Later Monarchs have no better flight characteristics than a Saber. I jumped both the old and the new, so I know what I am talking about. "Sometimes the price we pay for happiness is too high in the end." My orthopedic surgeon couldn't believe I still wanted to jump after all the crap that main put me through. Thanks for your time. Chuck